xiii. SNAKES. 201 



this region. Here the egg is broken, and there is no fear 

 of losing the contents. The shell is rejected through the 

 mouth. Concerning a species of this snake, Mr. Hammond 

 Tooke has recently drawn attention to a fact noticed by 

 Mr. Oakley. It mimics the berg-adder, a cousin of the 

 puff-adder. The head has the elongated form character- 

 istic of the harmless snakes. But, when irritated, the egg- 

 eater flattens it out till it has the usual viperine shape of 

 the "club" on a playing-card. It coils as if for a spring, 

 erects its head with every appearance of anger, hisses, and 

 darts forward as if to strike its fangs into its foe, in every 

 way closely simulating an irritated berg-adder. The snake 

 is, however, perfectly harmless and inoffensive. This is 

 only one of the wiles of that incarnate arch-deceiver, the 

 serpent. 



